Baseball and the Olympics – more bullets
August 18, 2008 by Steve Elledge
* Baseball in Casper is in sad shape right now. No Legion program for the first summer in my memory.
* Baseball in Casper is in sad shape right now. Went to the Ghosts game yesterday afternoon and it was cancelled – again! Billings didn’t want their players hurt – field apparently in terrible shape. And it wasn’t rain folks – it was gorgeous & dry yesterday.
* Baseball in Casper is in sad shape right now.
* Olympics have been fun to watch.
* Olympics are keeping me up at night …. I keep wanting to watch one more event.
* Jamaican sprinters are going to be hard to beat for a few years. Sheesh!
* Shawn Johnson is snake bit! Had the Gold in Floor Exercise until the last competitor. Silver is okay Shawn. How tall is she anyway? 4 feet in heels? Always smiling though.
* Michael Phelps? Phenom for sure. Stars were aligned and he is awesome — you can’t beat that combination.
* It’s Monday – gotta go earn some $$$$.
* Gotta tip toe across the kitchen – the Big B is sleeping below. Yep – he made it last evening after a blown tire experience. We even got his rig unloaded last night.
* Stephen called me last evening to ask me if he could vote for Barack Obama for President. Told him it was a free country and we are free to choose. Also told him NO! I’m not sure where all of that was coming from but I could hear his Ma in the background and he said something about her kicking him out of the house? LOL
NO BO
The Dad
Olympics and More
August 11, 2008 by Ryan Elledge
Laying here in bed watching the olympics. The mens gymnastics is on, and they are quite impressive. Looks like they should medal, unless they fall flat on their face on the horse. They had the lead, but China took it back after their vaults, which they are favored in. Michael Phelps is an animal in the pool. Really fun to watch.
Braelyn hasn’t been feeling well, but we attribute that to the little white spec on her lower left gums. Yep, Brae, who turned 7 months just days ago, is getting her first tooth. Cute little girl is slobbering more than Hoover drools. That, in and of itself, is an impressive feat!
Spencer starts back to school this Friday. Freshmen only report on Friday, everyone else on Monday. Though he doesn’t admit it, I think he’s pretty excited to start this new chapter. He attended a soqueer camp today… yep, he’s playing soqueer this year. Opps, I keep spelling that wrong. He plays soccer this year. He’s excited, and though I am a pure baseball guy (which means, naturally, that I hate soccer) I am happy he’s doing it. He’s good at it (so he tells me!), and it will give me a high school “sport” to watch! It’s all good… I enjoyed watching soccer when I was in high school.
Me, well, I am just working. I may go to the lake this weekend, but not really sure. Pretty much just a week of work, coming home, playing the guitar a bit, and watching the olympics. I did get a letter from the OP police department saying they found my complaint against “Officer” Sheperd “unfounded.” Go figure. They hope my future experiences with the OP police department are more positive, however. Yeah, I’m sure they will be. Hope they call me and ask me for a donation of some sort. I’ll donate… really, I will. I wonder, does sarcasm come through in a blog post? I will scan the letter and post it sometime, unless it blows away or gets rained on. It’s laying on my table on the patio.
Olympics update: we just screwed up on the horse. Two guys to save the silver. C’mon, USA.
Rebecca and Hoover are sleeping. Nothing really new. Hopefully Hoover will get busy with a video soon. I know we have some great footage of him going after the sprinklers on Sunday. He’s modest and doesn’t like producing videos of himself, but I will see if I can talk him into it.
Until next time, keep working hard to keep Obama out of the White House. My pocketbook demands that.
–RE
The Big 80-90
August 7, 2008 by Ryan Elledge
Hard to believe, really, but within a two week span, my grandfather (mom’s dad) turned 80 and in less than two days now, my grandma (dad’s mom) turns 90. Last week, Rebecca, Spencer, Lil B and I traveled to Casper (plane to Denver, rental car to Casper) to celebrate the two huge milestones. Sitting here at 36 years old, I can’t imagine what it would be like to be 80 or even 90 years old. Both grandma and grandpa are in good health, though grandma suffers from arthritis which landed her in the hospital for over a week and my grandpa is in the early, but apparently progressing rapidly, stages of alzheimer’s. Grandma isn’t moving around too well, though better than I figured she would. And grandpa goes “distant” on us, but to me, he does a good job of being on top of things.
We were fortunate enough to see, and introduce Braelyn to, a large number of my family members. We saw my mom’s aunt Betty, my uncle Randay (whom I haven’t seen in I don’t know how many years), my cousins Jamie and Chris (Randy’s daughter and son), Tom and Janice (kinda like aunt/uncle, but not really), my cousin Heather and her husband Dale along with their kids Christian and Justin, my aunt and uncle Fred and Lynda (Lynda is my mom’s sister), my cousin Jason and his wife Dawne, along with Madison (daughter) and newborn Luke (one month younger than Braelyn), plus my absent cousin Josh’s daughter Karleigh (doubt I spelled that right). Also saw my dad’s cousin Mike Elledge and wife Judy, friend and baseball teammate from way back Tony Cerullo (who’s grandma Betty lives with my grandpa now). Tony’s wife, their kids, Tony’s brother Adam, and parents including Geno whom I haven’t seen in forever. Of course, my sisters Wendy and Stephanie were both there, along with their spouses (Tony and Mike) and kids (Brandon, Nate, Courtney, Keegan from the Lecher side and Ashley and Stevie from Steph’s side). Yep, mom and dad were there, of course, as well as probably a ton of people I can’t remember right now as I type this. Tried to list as many names as I could to give some shout-outs to the family who may see this. If I left you off, let me know and I will edit and add ya, since it was purely accidental. Missed seeing, only by a day, my cousin Heidi and her kids as well as her brother (thus also my cousin) Paul. They showed up to spend some time with grandma.
Whew. Lot of family. Funny thing is at any given time, nearly all of the above were over at my parents’ house! In fact, the ‘rents parked their RV (aren’t you glad you still have it, mom?) in their back yard (redneck city!) and Heather, Dale and the boys stayed in it. Had a great time visiting and relaxing with the family. Spent a lot of time listening to Mike Elledge and Fred play the guitar every night, which ultimately broke out into song and all. Also spent a tremendous amount of time playing on Fred’s Martin Backpack guitar. Small and weird to play, but I really enjoyed it. So much so that I went to Guitar Center yesterday to get me one… but they were sold out. Oh well, maybe someday soon. Christian, who is 14 years old, and I spent a lot of time on it. Thanks to him for teaching me some things (Fred, too). We learned Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours song and Dueling Banjos from the movie Deliverance. Also learned Blackbird by the Beatles (I think) but known more to me as Dave Matthews covers it frequently. Probably spent more time hammering away on the guitar with Christian than I have in months! I am definitely reenergized from a guitar perspective. Christian, who I must say is an awesome kid, has been playing less time than me but has progressed much faster. I think it’s because he spends far more time on it than I am able to, plus he works it not only in school but often with Fred. If I had someone to “jam” (I can hardly jam) with, no doubt I would spend more time on it. Once a week with lessons (less frequent now since Scott, my instructor, is out-of-town getting married and honey-mooning) just doesn’t get me where I would love to be.
Anyway, some great hilights from the trip include:
- Seeing grandpa sing some karaoke at the bowling alley
- Two trips up to the cabin… sorry grandma didn’t make it
- Seeing grandma, at almost 90, hang till past midnight on two nights!
- Seeing my oldest sister, Stephanie, really enjoying life
- Seeing both of my sisters really get along (not that they don’t often, but they really seemed to have a good time together)
- Watching my nieces fight over holding Lil’ B
- Seeing the basement at mom & dad’s prepped for Big B to move in in less than a month while he goes to Casper College (aka Harvard on the Hill)
- Seeing my nephew Nathan really coming into his own and getting the crowd roarin’ with Karaoke — quite the country singer he is!
- Seeing nephew Keegan really growing up and becoming yet another awesome kid!
- Watching nephew Stevie take to the guitar, along with karate chopping me a bit here and there
- Seeing just how grown up my niece Ashley has become — oh, and watching her and Spencer pretend not to like each other!
- Throwing down a bunch of Fat Tire with the family (sorry Christian, you just aren’t old enough yet!)
- Witnessing my dad (and I) exercise extreme patience (not kiddin’) with all of the commotion
- Witnessing my mom, as usual, being so dedicated to her family
There was so much more to the weekend, but that is a short list of the hilights. All-in-all, it was great to see the family. It was like two family reunions combined into one. Just sorry I didn’t get to see Ron, Shelli, Paul, Heidi and kids, and Josh. Maybe at 90 & 100 I guess!
Well, Rebecca is at the gym playing raquetball with Holly (Rebecca’s first time ever) then doing some running and whatnot. Braelyn is up in bed (gonna go check on her now), Hoover is laying by my desk (surprise, surprise) and Spencer is over at a friend’s house for the night (surprise, surprise…. wonder what mischief they are up to tonight). Guess I’m gonna go relax a bit and watch the boob tube and fall asleep. Just had a few moments so thought I would blog about the last weekend. I think I have about 545 pictures almost finished uploading in the gallery (Under PLACES > CASPER > AUGUST 2008). Thankfully I didn’t take so many the camera would break, but I came close!
Cya for now,
RE
**NO BO** — **GO USA**
Oh yeah, poker on Saturday night. C’mon over!
Fort Collins City Champs
July 29, 2008 by Vickie Elledge
Steve and I had the excitement of driving to Ft Collins Sunday after church to witness the 12 and under city baseball championship. Yep,, Tony and Nate the coaches coached their team to the city championship. Keegan pitched the last 3 innings and basically shut the other team down. I am not sure just how many he struck out in 3 innings, but I know it was most of the batters. Great little baseball player and a pitcher. Congrats Boys. I know I had a great time. Haven’t seen any baseball this summer and I miss it. We have watched a few tball (coach pitch) with Stevie playing and a couple of Ashley’s softball, so we have not been totally deprived.
We have a whole bunch of family members coming in this week and the next for a couple of special birthdays. All my family, but one nephew will be here. Josh could not come, but his daughter Karlie is coming with grandma and grandpa. Little Joshie will be missing also. Not sure if he would like being in a car for 2 days each way. Hard on 4 year olds. Our kids are all going to be here also. LOVE IT. Steve’s cousin from Tennessee is coming and also neice Heidi and Kids and nephew Paul. Lots of festivities.
Happy Birthday also to Rebecca’s mom. She has the big 60 in a day or two. Also if memory serves me right (and it often doesnt), I think this summer was Tony’s mom’s 60 as well as sister Lynda. Wow we are getting a bit older arent we…. NOT.
Have a safe trip all of you. Cant wait for you all to get here and for the Moore’s and Rocks to get out of the area of the earthquake today.
All for now from ME…
Vickie
Okay …. we did it again …….but not for awhile.
July 21, 2008 by admin
Okay – In one of our weaker moments Vickie and i booked another cruise! It’s a happy 64th birthday to me! It won’t be until the week of October 18th, 2009. 1.25 years to get ready …. but it is on the calendar. Should give anyone with interest plenty of time to figure it out if they would like to join us. I know it is a dirty deal because it is probably right in the middle of a school year but hey …. everyone has different school years anyway and the only way to work around them would be to do a summer cruise …then we would hit baseball, softball, lakes, and a multitude of different activities sooooooo —- it is October 18, 2009. 8 days on the Carnival Spirit —– departs San Diego and ports in Acupulco, Manzanillo, and Ixtapa – all in Southern Mexico – south of Cabo & the ones we have been to before. All new ports for us so looked exciting – and 2 sea days on each end – 2 to get there and 2 to get back. Anyone who can work it out would be more than welcome……we would love the company. Vickie just advised me it is only 453 days away as of today.
While I am on cruises – let me just make it perfectly clear that we are open minded – and if another sweet lookin’ deal comes up prior to October 2009 we could probably be talked into taking a serious look at that also. Notice i said also – i have every intention of making this ship - already have a room reserved (a suite no less)! I figure if i start paying on it now it should be good to go by departure eh! Anyway – keep us posted if you have anything cooking that we might be able to join you. I am already ready. WOW — I will turn 64 on that one – sheesh!
Hot here today. We had a little bbq here for about 18 people this evening. It went well – had venison hamburgers though – not bad but not my favorite.
Mom still at the hospital. Sounds like she will spend most of this week there while they figure out what she is capable of doing for herself and what she needs help with. Don’t think it will ever be quite the same again but Mom always surprises me so will withold judgement. Just seems like this pain is intense and hurts her even while she is on some pretty stout painkiller. Pray for comfort please.
Stephanie – whenever I had the honor (seldom because I was a good dodger) of buying you or your sister "plugs" I never felt the urge to broadcast it —— so thanks for letting anyone with internet access know i was buying nylon panties on the weekend – pink and blue and white by the way. Anyway – as Larry the Cable Guy would say — I got ‘er done! 
Going to bed now —— dont forget to use BO-derant!
The DAD
Back and busy
July 13, 2008 by admin
After the LONG drive from California, I decided in earnest to start on the basement to get it ready for company at the end of the month and for Brandon when he comes here for college. Lots to do, but we did get a LOT of stuff out of there today for the extra trash pickup tomorrow. Yes, we are collectors of stuff we realllllllly do not need and stored lots of things for Ryan from baseball, etc, that he probably does not even know still exists. Probably wont miss any of it….
The trip to California was fun but hot. We spent several days at Disneyland. Ashley danced at Spotlight nationals and did very well. She got 2 diamonds, one on her solo, one on a duet, 2 rubies, another solo and duet, and the team got an emerald. So she did very well especially competing with much larger studios from California, etc. Good job Ashley. Stevie had a ball swimming in the Moore’s pool, and doing projects with Fred and Andy. He also enjoyed most of disneyland. He is not really one for the dressed up characters, and Indiana Jones and Snow White were not in his list of do agains. We helped Lynda and Fred celebrate their birthdays, Lynda another major milestone…the big 60. The party was really nice and everyone seemed to have a great time.
Tony had to have some surgery on Friday after the mototcycle accident. The doctors repaired a cut tendon in his left hand. He will have to learn to keyboard on the computer one handed for a while. Thank God that he was not more seriously injured. He also has lots of cuts and scrapes and stitches.
Steve and the girls survived very well with out me, but they say I was missed. I missed them also. Maggie did chew me out a bit, but Sophie just barked to let me know she agreed with Maggie. Sophie has never been a leader only a follower of her sister.
We visited with Braelyn, Ryan and Rebecca on the web cam last night. Braelyn was talking to us in her very cute way. She likes to hear her voice. Funny little girl. Hoover was being lazy wouldnt even wake up to say hi. The other Sophie was not around either. Lazy dogs.
Guess that is about all from here. Think I will go out and enjoy my nice fountain, and relax a bit on the patio.
Have a great week all….
Love to you,
THE MOM
Braelyn is 6 Months Old Today!
July 9, 2008 by admin
As Lauren Murphy would say, today is Braelyn’s “Half Birthday!” Yes, that is right… Lil’ B is now officially 6 months old today. Half way to a year. Wow, in a lot of respect, time really does fly by. She is out right now on a walk with Rebecca. She was really cute earlier tonight (check that, she is always cute. But, when I got home (a little later than usual) she was chowing down on her carrots and such and was, well, pretty demanding, really. She has the funniest sound which I think means “More, NOW!”
While I am so anxious for the next big moments, like when she crawls, talks, walks, etc, the small moments are priceless as well. She is really developing quite the personality. I can’t wait to see what is next in her development. One thing I do know, she definitely takes the cares of the world away when I get to hold her. She is so precious, and loves to cuddle. This morning she slept in bed with me for about an hour after she ate… she was up early, and I wasn’t!
I have some pictures and a few more videos to get done, if I could Hoover Woodrow to quit snoring over there and get his production company kicked into high gear. I will get to them soon… I think.
I was sad to hear Monday that the father of two of my former baseball players passed away this past weekend. Bob Stephens was a great man who lived for his kids and for baseball. He most recently had been heading the Field of Dreams project in Casper where he helped raise interest, funds, and city support to construct new, quality baseball fields for the youth in Casper. He was a very frequent posted on Bleacher Banter, one of my baseball websites dedicated to American Legion Baseball in Wyoming. He will be missed, no doubt, by the baseball community and his family. My thoughts go out to Ross and Lee and the rest of the family for this untimely, tragic passing. I am disappointed that the Casper Star Tribune on-line has yet to post his obituary. I would love to send a donation to whatever organization they have chosen (likely Casper Youth Baseball). Hopefully they get it up there soon.
Yes, there is a new look and new software behind RyanElledge.com. I have reverted back to WordPress to power my site. I hope to get a custom template put together in the coming weeks, but I am pleased with the advancements of WordPress as opposed to Serendipity, which powered my site before. It will take me awhile to recategorize all of the posts and add some bells and whistles to the site, but hey, that will keep you coming back for more.
My brother-in-law Tony Lecher was in a motorcycle accident yesterday in or around Fort Collins. When I talked to my sister late last night, the phone connection was not very good, but it apparently happened in a construction zone. Tony wasn’t wearing a helmet. He is, I hear, doing fine, but they had to stitch him up (face included) and he his hand was being x-rayed. I am pleased he is ok… motorcycles scare me. Heal soon, Tony.
Well, Happy Half Birthday, Miss Braelyn. You are the joy of my life and I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next! Love ya, Lil’ B.
Oh, remember, Vote No BO!
Sunday Evening on the Patio
June 22, 2008 by admin
We got back from the lake this afternoon about 3:30 pm. After picking up the one and only Hoover D Dover from being boarded, I have spent all but an hour or so out back on the patio. It is an absolutely beautiful evening, despite the nagging nats. Hoover is laying down about 5 feet from me… he has really not strayed far from my side since we got back. He helped me grill a ka-bob for me (and as it turns out, for him) and some fish for Rebecca. Braelyn dined on some sweet potatoes for the first time tonight… she seemed to enjoy them. I imagine they will be the same color and substanance when they come back out. Lucky Rebecca.
Hoover and I had a water fight this afternoon. I won. Well, at least the hose won. Hoover still loves playing with the water hose. He loves water so much… yet he is petrified of the Murphy’s pool, and the lake was a bit intimidating for him last summer. He will venture back to the lake in a week-and-a-half for a few days over the 4th of July. I wanted to take him this weekend, but my Escalade is out-of-commission right now due to a blown tire. Should be fixed this week… it will be an expensive trip to the repair shop. The entire wheel and tire must be replaced, along with some plastic flap in the wheel-well. Note to self: Escalades and landscaping rocks don’t go together. Enough said on that.
I’ve been practicing the guitar for several hours today on the patio. I’m sure our neighbors are really impressed… they probably haven’t heard anything this bad in a long time. Now, I’m just sitting out here relaxing and typing away.
The lake was very relaxing. Great weather… not too hot, and the lake water felt great. My shoulders are beyond burnt right now. Aloe vera…. words of the night. Braelyn went on a few boat rides, but mostly napped in the air conditioned cabin of the boat while the Murphys, Rebecca and I had some fun relaxing and swimming. I really enjoy going to the lake. I do wish it were a bit closer… it’s about 2:30 drive each way. But once we’re there, it’s a blast. Gabe and I jumped on the tube and Stephanie captained the Murphy’s Cobalt boat for the first time. I bet Gabe she wouldn’t be able to get us out of the wake. Boy, was I wrong. She put the pedal to floor, so-to-speak… we had quite the venture. My neck and back are still feeling the wrath of her first time driving the boat with tubers behind.
Mom is coming out on Thursday evening and staying through Sunday to help me with Braelyn, as Rebecca will be joining Stephanie and 3 of their friends down at the lake for a “Ladies Weekend.” I’m sure they will have a blast, and I am very appreciative of my mom’s willingness to come help me with Braelyn. Yes, I am one of “those dads”… the ones who panic at the thought of having to fly solo with a 5.5 month old baby! I know Braelyn will be better off having her grandma here to help out. I don’t think her little butt could handle three days of dumpy diapers not being changed! Yes, I admit… me and dirty diapers do not go hand-in-hand.
When mom comes, she is bringing dad’s Fathers’ Day gift that we got him so I can see it. It is a 30 page book full of pictures of Braelyn and pretty much our entire family. I am anxious to see how well it turned out. Dad and mom both say it is very good. I want to see for myself, as I may just have to get another one made to keep around the house here.
Braelyn is growing up fast. She became tickleish this past week. It is so much fun to watch her giggle and laugh hysterically. I know I am biased, but she is the cutest little thing I have ever seen. She is very talkative now. Fortunately for us, she remains a happy baby. She rarely cries, except when she is really tired or hungry. She also cries in the evening hours, from 5-7 or so whenever she isn’t being held. She just seems to want to cuddle in the evenings. That’s ok by Rebecca and I… we love to hold her. Rebecca is in giving her the last bit of food for the night, then off to bed she goes.
Work has been pretty stressful of late. We have recently been migrating nearly all of our off-shore functions to the United States, and it has been quite a challenge. Anytime you rebuild functions with all new people, you take some lumps. I am proud of our staff and how far we have come. I am also proud that we’re bucking the trend of off-shoring and out-sourcing. In this day and age, more and more companies are doing the opposite of what we are doing. The shrinking value of the dollar and the inflation in Bulgaria made it a no-brainer almost for us.
Last week Rebecca and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Time has really gone by fast. It doesn’t seem that long ago that our family and friends all gathered for our wedding. Now, two years later, we’re still going strong and have a little one to show for it. And, we’re thinking about when we want to try for number two. Rebecca’s doctor told her that she would prefer Rebecca wait until Braelyn is 9 months old (October) but as long as she is 6 months (July) we can have at it. She does want Rebecca to be pregnant before she turns 35, which is in December, so we don’t have a real big window of time. I figure the sooner the better! Time to try for a baby brother (or sister, I suppose) for Braelyn and Spencer.
At the same time, we talked this weekend about possibly getting another dog. I sense Hoover is lonely during the days. We keep Sophie locked up in her kennel as she tends to pee and crap all over the house when she roams free. But, adding a 3rd dog is a financial and travel constraint. As much as I would love to have a playmate for Hoover, I figure we will probably hold off on that. Heck, we can’t even figure out what type of dog we would get. I would love to have another Mastiff… but that would double the drooling and high food bill! We would also love to have a bulldog… but I don’t know if that would be the ideal playmate for Hoover. Ah, it probably doesn’t matter since it would not be the best idea for us to get another four-legged child right now.
Spencer is at the S.D.’s house until early July. Well, I guess he will be spending a week in Colorado seeing his grandparents (S.D.’s parents), then will spend the 4th of July weekend with Rebecca’s folks. That’s a tradition for him. We’ll get him back after that. Surprisingly, S.D. let Spencer go to his friend Collin’s birthday party this weekend. I can’t tell you how surprising that is. S.D. would normally do anything but what Spencer wants. Maybe it’s a new and improved S.D. Heh, yeah, right.
The political world is pretty depressing right now. Bush’s approval rating is deeper in the toilet, which is amazing. I don’t know if it will reach single digits before he vacates office, but I think it might get close. And that is only going to hurt McCain’s chances. The taxing Obama is sitting pretty well right now, I think. And the H.C. is going to start actively campaigning for him later this week. I think it’s the beginning of the Obama-Clinton ticket. H.C. will be President one-way-or-another. If it takes being the Veep and waiting for one of Bill’s cronies to take action, that’s what she’ll probably do.
A friend of mine, who is an entrepreneur in Chicago (owns a competing web hosting company) shows his support for the taxing Obama on his facebook.com profile. I commented on his page this weekend about how it is odd for an entrepreneur to support a presidential candidate who will inevitibly take more of his hard earned money away in the form of higher taxes. His response was:
You get what you pay for
(And, I’d happily pay more for a functional government… Ya know, so I wouldn’t have to pretend to be Canadian when I visit Europe =/
That is sad, that an American would pretend to be a Canadian when he travels. I guess the world-wide media has impacted people’s beliefs abroad as much as it has here in the States. I do laugh, though, about the Canadian comment. Afterall, in Canada where they have Universal Healthcare, Canadians desire to come to the US for treatment because the system is so screwed up there, yet that is what Obama and HC want for our country. I guess my friend Dan would still be able to be “Canadian” when he gets his medical healthcare in the United States. But wait, it will be the same problemed healthcare that Canada has. I guess we’ll have to go to Mexico for doctors of choice.
I guess there is plenty of time for McCain to make a run and pull ahead in the polls. ElectionProjection.com shows Obama lightly winning Florida and Missouri. McCain needs to campaign hard and get those states Red. Without them, Obama is gonna be the Prez.
Oh, while I was down at the lake I received a call from a detective in the Overland Park Professional Standards division of the OP Police Department. He told me I had a very well-written and very thorough complaint, and that he didn’t really have any questions for me since it was all pretty-well spelled out. Said while I would never hear about what disciplinary actions would be taken (if any) against “Officer” Sheperd, he did say I would receive a written response from the department after the investigation was over. He did pretty well tell me that the court system will determine my innocence or guilt, but that “Officer” Sheperd and his partner will have to prove beyond reasonable doubt my guilt. Well, as I have said before, unless the video tape shows me wearing my seatbelt clearly, it will be my word against that of two “sworn officers of the law” and I can pretty well imagine how that will turn out. He says my lawyer should know how to subpoena the tapes. Guess I better get on finding an attorney. I have to plead next week. Oh, the detective did inform me that “Officer” Sheperd’s partner was his Field Training Officer… “Officer” Sheperd is a new police man and is being trained. His partner (FTO) didn’t ever approach the vehicle as he was merely observing “Officer” Sheperd. Surprise, surprise… I got a bogus ticket from a rookie officer. Hopefully in court the idiot will merely indicate that he was mistaken. I doubt he would do such a thing… unless the tape does show me wearing my seatbelt. The detective did indicate he had reviewed the tape, and that the tape could not be altered in anyway by the “Officer”. He didn’t, however, tell me what he saw on the tape. I guess I’ll find out soon enough what the tape shows. My prediction: it shows a black Honda Accord with dark tinted windows and no visibility inside. That won’t bare well for me, I suspect.
Checked in this weekend on American Legion and “Casper Baseball” this weekend. The Torrington Tigers held an alumnae game against members of the 1997-1998-1999 state champion players. As I was the manager in 1997 when the Tigers won their first “AA” Legion State Title, I was invited, but was not able to make arrangements to get back there for the event. I wish I could have, to see the guys I coached over ten years ago! My how time has flown by. I also see that the Casper Hurricanes aren’t doing too well… or playing very many games… this year. Casper Baseball is in a sad state right now. Very sad to see them not playing Legion anymore. Oh well… I am now experiencing “life after baseball.”
Well, I guess that’s a good enough update from here in the OP… enough ramblin’.
Take care, be safe, and vote Republican. Keep the BO and HC out of the WH come January!
It’s Supposed to be Summer!
June 11, 2008 by admin
Where is the summer weather we are supposed to be experiencing? I don’t think Casper has hit the 80 degree mark in 2008. The kids are experiencing their second full week out of school and arent’ spending their days outside. Ashley has been to the pool twice but is disappointed that she can’t get a tan because it is too cold to lay out. I have never played softball in so many layers of clothes for this long in the season. Stephen hasn’t even been able to use his waterslide. It poured rain during his first coach pitch game yesterday. Summer…please come soon…the kids are getting cabin fever.
There is a plus side to the wonderful weather we are experiencing. I haven’t even gotten the hoses out from winter storage and the sprinkler system is still winterized. It rains heavily every couple of days so the water bill is looking pretty good! Wyoming is also officially out of the drought stage.
Even though summer vacation has begun the kids are as busy as ever. I worked the first week of break writing curriculum for the district. It was rainy and cold most of the time so I really didn’t miss much. Ashley finished her dance recital on Tuesday of last week and has begun work on next season’s competition stuff. She attended a workshop last weekend that two famous hip hoppers and choreographers from many TV shows and dance videos put on. They choreographed a dance for about nine students from her studio. It is “true” hip hop. She has been teaching dance this week at a dance camp for younger students and has been putting in a lot of practice time for our upcoming trip to LA for Nationals. Oh yeah, on her down time she plays Junior Olympic fastpitch softball three to four days a week.
Stephen still takes Tae Kwon Do every day and is playing on a “Coach” pitch baseball team. He so badly wants to play Little League. He learned how to play a card game called, “GOLF” and tries to teach it to everyone he can. It is actually an adult game and has a high level of strategy involved but, he gets it. I have been making him add and subtract the scores to keep his math skills sharp. He also has to read for 30 minutes everyday before he can play the Wii. So he’s busy.
Tally was sick for four or five days this past week. I had to take her to the vet early Monday morning because she was vomiting at least once an hour from Friday night on. They took x-rays of her stomach (quite pricey) and determined that she probably had a virus. She finally ate some food yesterday and gobbled a whole bowl full today. She also has been quite feisty today so I think she is on the mend.
Poor Mike has to work while we have all the fun. He is coaching Stephen’s team. Stephen told him that he needed to practice pitching. Mike’s dad has also been in the hospital twice in the last week. This time they are keeping him for a few days. We aren’t sure what is wrong but he is becoming very frail and is always in a great deal of pain. He is supposed to be to be on oxygen 24 hours a day but has a hard time staying on it since he likes to smoke. I think he is at the point that it is probably too late to give up the cigarettes so he might as well be happy.
I am not really much into politics but OMG what in the world are the democrats thinking…sorry Mike!
TGIF – where is everybody?
May 30, 2008 by admin
Another Friday is here and it it beautiful outside. I’ve been on the road – got back last night – played with my man Stephen for a couple of hours and had a quiet evening and a good rest. Decided to see what was up on the website and —-low & behold — nothing! Not a single blog or comment that I can see since last I posted! Busy lives I guess!
I imagine the son and crew will be boating this weekend —- probably a good bet that the Lecher crew will also do some of that unless calendars are too crowded with softball & baseball. I’m a little envious though I have been told by folks through the years that the second happiest day in a life is the day you buy your boat —- the happiest is the day you sell it! That’s supposed to be a joke folks so no letters and phone calls necessary. And no motorhome comments necessary either!
I have a few chores in mind for the weekend but I am not going to write them down here because I might change my mind – so I will keep them to myself! heh heh
Well – time to go to the office. All 3 girls are snoring away in the other room right now – wish I had a recorder to share with you all. Have a great day and a great weekend.
The Dad
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